Ascension of The Superiors
by Ascended Demon
Summary: The Superiors are powerful canine and feline/canine hybrids that few know about. Not even DOG or MEOWS know about their existence. But when a new villain appears, a superior must reveal himself and investigate this. Rated M for future chapters. M/M pairing. Don't like, don't read.
1. The Superiors

**Author's Note: Alright, so before you all start reading, I'd like you all to know that this is my first story of Cats and Dogs in a long time. I used to be The Super Shepherd, but I lost that account a couple years ago, and I gave up on fanfiction. Then I was inspired to continue. Made this account, and I'm writing stories again.**

 **I must also add that I'm pretty much borrowing Nightfury991's story, Cats and Dogs: Rise of the Pack. Don't worry, I've been given permission to use it. I should also tell you that he's discontinued his story for now. Maybe he'll continue in the future. I don't know. I didn't ask him that.**

 **Anyway, on with the story.**

* * *

Diggs had wanted to stay at home, spend some time with his family. But he had decided to go see his friends at DOG, see how they were doing. And when he got there, it seemed like just a normal day for everyone. However, it did not stay that way as soon as he heard the commotion. The German Shepherd saw everyone looking at the big screen, which showed nothing but static. His eyes widened before he rushed over to Lou, Butch, and the others.

"Guys, what's going on?" He asked in concern.

"Our firewall's been breached." Peak answered.

"Somebody hacked the system." Lou stated.

"What? Tinkles?" Diggs asked in surprise.

Peak shook his head. "No, it can't be him. This is unlike anything I've ever seen!"

"Peak, what is it?" Lou asked.

"I don't know how, but I can't find the source of the problem. It's like no one's even hacking in." Peak replied.

"What do you mean, it's like no one's hacking in?" Butch asked.

"I don't understand how, but there's no frequency. It's like whoever's doing this is using a computer that cannot be detected or anything."

Diggs raised a brow. _"Computer that can't be detected?"_

However, he had to push those thoughts aside as something appeared on the screen. It still looked like static, but there was a figure moving around, but the way the frames stopped were like a glitch. Of course, it obviously wasn't a glitch but how the hacker chose to appear to everyone.

"Agents of DOG." The hacker spoke in an extremely deep and distorted voice, but in a way everyone could tell what he was saying. "I do hope you do not mind if I _use_ your systems so that we may... communicate with one another."

"Who is this?" Lou demanded.

"DO NOT MAKE ME LAUGH, LOSER!" The hacker snapped, and it was so loud and sudden that it startled every agent in the building. Although, no one paid attention to Diggs, who had not flitched. "You dare think I would simply give my identity to you?! If that were so, I wouldn't be hiding my appearance with all this static you see!" Then the figure took a deep breath, calming himself before he spoke in a calm, yet very stern tone. "Now, assuming I will not be interrupted, I think we should get back on track. Don't you all agree?"

"Who are you?" Diggs demanded, obviously not intimidated. "Tell us before I start calling you "Glitch."

To everyone's surprise, the hacker laughed in amusement. "How convenient. I was just about to say that's what I'd be known as. Yes, you all may call me Glitch. After all, I am a perfect hacker."

"Who are you really? Don't tell me you're that same guy that told us to give him the files of Operation Full Moon."

"Oh, I'm not _him._ However, I could aid you all in finding out his true identity and his location."

"We already know he's in Canada." Butch stated.

"Maybe he is. Or maybe that's what he wants you all to think." Glitch suggested. "Either way, Canada is still a large country. You may know where The Pack were when they were taken, but they could be anywhere in Canada. But I can assist you by narrowing it down further than that."

"And what proof do you have that you can?" Diggs asked skeptically. "Admittedly, I'm not a genius in any way, but if I were in your position, I'd need everyone to believe me. And how could I expect them to believe me if they have no reason to believe me?"

Once again, Glitch laughed, sounding more amused this time. "Oh, I like you. Yes, you're correct about that, Agent Diggs. But do not underestimate me, for you can expect some intel from me in the near future."

"He's right."

Everyone looked to see Shadow, who walked over and stood next to Diggs.

"I've never agreed with Diggs on anything. But he has a point. Why should we believe you? How do we even know that you will give us intel and that you're not trying to deceive us all?"

Diggs was fairly surprised that his rival was actually supporting his point, but it may of had to do with the fact that they were talking about The Pack.

"Like I said, you all can expect intel from me in the near future. Until then, you must be patient. Many of those who possess weak will tend to give up rather easily. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe any of you have strong will. Almost none of you all have indomitable will, but you might just manage to prove that I have underestimated your will. But only slightly."

Diggs looked at the figure. "Well, when can we expect this intel from you?"

"Well, keep in mind that I have yet to begin my search for The Pack, and since this wolf your dealing with is no fool, he won't be found easily. As a result, I cannot specify when you can expect any leads, but you must be patient. Do not let your weak will fair you."

As soon as Glitch finished talking, the screen had returned to normal.

Diggs looked over at the Spec Ops Agent. "Did you actually agree with me?"

Shadow snorted. "Don't push it. That Glitch doesn't know anything about The Pack, otherwise he'd know where they are."

Diggs sighed as the wolf walked off. "Back to being an ass."

"I heard that!"

"You were meant to!"

* * *

In an unknown location, Glitch laid down on a very expensive and comfortable looking mattress, sighing as he began to relax. However, he could not clear his mind. Due to his panmnesia, he was capable of remembering everything. Not just what he sees, but what he hears, smells, tastes, feels, every the emotions he felt. Even everything after the moment he was born.

Right now, he remembered every agent of DOG, including Butch, Lou, Peak, that Spec Ops Agent Shadow, but that's not why he couldn't clear his mind. In his head, he kept seeing the image of Diggs, that new rookie that DOG had recruited a few mere weeks ago, but something felt off. Sometimes, his panmnesia has trouble when it comes to remembering things. His brain can handle it, but every now and then, it can be tricky to navigate through all of those memories he has.

"I've seen Diggs before." He muttered. "But where?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Diggs was currently walking around HQ, looking for a certain wolf who he needed to speak with. Now normally, he would do everything he could to stay away from that Spec Ops Agent, but this was important. And he feared that he had greater problems at hand.

It wasn't long before he finally found him, inside that armory that belonged to The Pack. The door was open, and Shadow seemed to be making sure all the equipment was in order.

"Shadow, we need to talk." Diggs said.

Shadow sighed. "Why?"

Diggs pressed a button, and the door shut as he looked around the room and saw that there were no cameras. "The door's soundproof, right?"

"What, you want to fight?" Shadow asked in a bored tone.

"No. It's serious. It's about The Pack. You know something."

"I already told Lou everything I could remember."

Diggs growled. "You know, you're good. But ever since we met, I've been suspicious of you, so if you're this flawless good agent, then you weren't trying to fool me. The Pack haven't been captured, have they?"

Shadow was indeed good, not even tensing up or showing any signs of deception. "I do not know what you're talking about. Now get out, rookie."

"That wolf that hacked the systems about a week ago. Is he the leader?" Diggs asked, clearly not buying it.

Shadow snarled. "You think we betrayed Lou?"

"Well, wolves sometimes see themselves above dogs. Is that what this is about, though? Thinking you're better than us and not wanting to take orders from dogs?"

"Alright, that is nonsense. I've worked for DOG for years, and I could care less about whether or not our superiors are dogs."

"You know, that's the only thing you're saying that's truth. You could care less about whether or not your superiors are dogs, but you follow that leader of yours regardless." Diggs stated.

Seeing how there was nothing he could say, Shadow sighed. "I must admit, I'm surprised that you figured it out."

"Shadow, we don't have to fight. Right now, The Pack and whatever their planning isn't why I wanted to talk to you. This is mainly about Glitch." Diggs assured.

Knowing that the German Shepherd wasn't lying, the wolf let his guard down. "Alright. What about him?"

"Don't you think it's odd how he can hack into HQ without being detected? No frequencies, or anything of the sort?"

"Well, you have a point there. But we have advanced technology, so it wouldn't be impossible to create such a computer."

"Maybe, but what about how he knew of Operation Full Moon? How long has he known us? And more importantly, what does he really know about The Pack? I mean, what if he knows you all are traitors?"

"Alright, listen here, rookie. We've been off the grid for two years, and it's one thing to know about us, but to know our location and our plans? How can you believe that he would know that?"

"Did you sense any deception?"

Shadow sighed as he shook his head. "I admit, I know he was telling the truth. But what do you propose we do about it?"

Diggs sighed. "Shadows, I'm going to tell you something, something you must keep between us for now. I have secrets."

Shadow raised a brow. "What kind of secrets?"

"Secrets you wouldn't imagine." Diggs stated. "I need you to do something for me. If I am going to tell you this, I need you to believe in the impossible. Can you do that?"

"Well, humans think talking animals are impossible."

"Okay, good. Now, I'm gonna tell you the story of my life. Or, well, part of it, anyway." Diggs paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "When I was a pup, my mother was killed."

Shadow did not expect that, and he actually felt sympathy for the German Shepherd.

"It was late, a sound woke me up, and I see my dad trying to save her. But in the end, he fails. I'm taken to safety before she dies."

"What happened?" Shadow asked gently, understanding that it was a sensitive topic. He never had a mother himself, and he couldn't imagine how he'd feel if he lost his sister.

"Well, my dad and I did a lot of things. And many years later, I'm now someone else. I went on missions, before DOG was a thing. You see, there are these canines and feline/canine hybrids we call "Superiors." The Superiors have many capabilities. Enhanced physical and mental capabilities. The US government knows about them. After all, two superiors prevented the assassination of Kennedy, but they had to cover it up. Not to protect Kennedy from humans, but the superior who hired Oswald to kill him. While a president is elected every couple of years, Kennedy had secretly remained president until his death in 2008, when they made Obama the new president, and secret president if you will."

Shadow's eyes widened. "So, wait, all those other presidents, they were just faces and even they didn't know."

Diggs nodded. "The Superiors are the reason there is an ULTRA TOP SECRET. They don't show up on any form of technology unless they allow that technology to perceive them. And when they do, there's no signs that suggest that they even have greater physical and mental capabilities. Despite how different they're DNA is, all machines can only comprehend it as normal canine or feline DNA, usually depending on the form they're in."

"What happened to the superiors that saved JFK?" Although it was confusion and hard to process, Shadow was able to find it all very interesting.

It confused the wolf even more when he noticed a distant look in the shepherd's eyes, something that seemed to resemble depression.

"They were together for quite some time. But in the end, not everything is capable of lasting. They... grew apart, left the military."

"And the military let them?" Shadow asked, slightly surprised.

"Well, keep in mind, they did a lot of services for the US. If not for then, this country, and perhaps so many others, could have descended into chaos. Anarchy, really. So, of course, the government let them go."

"Okay, Diggs, I know you're telling the truth, I know when someone's lying or not, but how could you possibly know all this when even DOG doesn't know?"

Diggs sighed. "Well, it's simple, Shadow. My name is Diggs, and I'm a five thousand and eighteen year old superior, born in 3000 BC, Ancient Egypt."


	2. Ivana

For a moment, there was silence as Diggs and Shadow looked at each other, neither knowing what to say. And right now, Shadow didn't even know what to think. Anyone else would say that Diggs was lying and that he had made the whole superior thing up, but Shadow wasn't like everyone else. He could detect lies, and he didn't detect any lie from the German Shepherd. Everything he had just told the wolf was completely and utterly the truth.

Although, Diggs wasn't sure how well Shadow was processing it all, or if he could even process any of it at the moment. He just stood there, staring wide eyed. Diggs was about to assume that Shadow was in shock, until the wolf eventually snapped out of it.

"Are you okay?" Diggs asked.

"Am I okay? You just told me that you're some super soldier!" Shadow exclaimed.

"Uh, well, technically I am." Diggs stated.

Shadow shook his head. "Okay, why'd you even tell me all this?"

"Because, I might need your help with this one. I haven't been in on the field as a superior in a very long time, since 1986, after Sarajevo."

"Why? What happened in Sarajevo?"

"It was my last mission, when I took out a terrorist. One that the US was having trouble with."

"Okay, so you've been retired for about thirty-two years. And you're really an old dog."

Diggs grinned. "Not exactly. I may be old, but the truth is, I'm pretty much a two year old German shepherd. Both physically and mentally."

Shadow raised a brow. "Mentally? As in, regardless of your very old age, you are still a kid?"

"Exactly." Diggs answered.

Shadow shook his head. "This is completely insane."

"You're not the first person to say that, and I doubt you'll be the last."

"Okay, I'll help. But where are we going to start, though? We don't know Glitch's location."

"We'll figure something out soon. And for now, you gotta keep it between us."

"But can't the agents help? What about Butch, Lou, anyone?"

"If Glitch could hack into DOG that easily, he could find out we're after him if we tell anyone. Not to mention, who knows what he's capable of. I don't actually know what we're dealing with, I've fought a lot of dangerous guys over the years, Dakota, and Glitch could be one of the worst, based on his hacking intuition."

Shadow could tell that Diggs was saying his real name to prove how serious he was about this, and since all of this superior stuff was true, it just had to be too dangerous to tell anyone else.

"Alright, so what do we do now?" He asked.

"Like I said, we'll figure it out. I have a few old friends who might be able to lend a hand if we can't get anything on our own." Diggs replied.

Shadow raised a brow. "Old? Like from the Cold War?"

Diggs couldn't help but laugh. "Some of them are. The ones I were referring to aren't THAT old. Then again, the Cold War lasted for a very long time."

Shadow sighed. "This is a lot to take in. Aright, so where do you think we should start? Where should we go?"

"Well, finding Glitch is going to be near impossible, since he is obviously a very skilled hacker. You were right, it is possible to make such a computer, but that could only be achieved by someone with a very advanced intellect. We're talking smarter than Peak!" Diggs exclaimed.

Shadow nodded. "Okay, but how do we locate him?"

"That's gonna be the hard part. The easy way would be to trace the source of the message, but the chances of that are really not in our favor. So, you and I are going to have to do things the hard way."

"And what's the hard way?"

"Back before I retired, the US faced a few skilled hackers before. Those hackers often worked for people, with people, or people worked for them. The point is, we basically have to go after criminals until we find one that knows something."

"Do you have any idea how long that can take?"

"It's as far as we can get. Look, if I were Glitch, I'd probably have people working for me."

"And if you're wrong?"

'Well, you and I could always search the entire world." Diggs said sarcastically.

Shadow sighed. "I don't like this at all."

"This is why I retired. Life can be stressful sometimes."

"Okay, so where do we actually start?"

"That's the thing, Shadow. I believe I know an associate of Glitch."

"Who?"

"Kitty Galore."

* * *

It was easy finding that cat. She had not been arrested after her defeat, and there had been nowhere else for her to go, so it made sense that she was still in Play Land. And, of course, her owner was still Chuck the Magnificent. In fact, she was in the trailer when they found her.

"Alright, Kitty, what do you know about Glitch?" Diggs demanded.

"Glitch? I have no idea what you're talking about." Kitty replied.

"Where is he?" Diggs snapped.

Kitty sighed. "You think I'm gonna be intimidated by you? I wasn't the first time we met back in Havana, why would I be now?"

Diggs's eyes widened. "Ivana?"

Kitty/Ivana grinned. "Good to see you, too, Diggs."

Shadow raised a brow. "Wait, what's going on?"

"I met Ivana in Havana, in 1200. Before it was Havana." Diggs explained.

Shadow's eyes widened. "Wait, she's a superior?"

Diggs sighed. "Pretty much."

"So, he knows?" Ivana asked.

Diggs nodded. "Yeah. And trying to take over the world? My dad was right, you are a naughty little girl."

Ivana laughed. "Diggs, I'm two thousand years older than you. But it's nice to hear you call me that... again."

Shadow raised a brow. "What's she talking about?"

Diggs blushed. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Oh, I see you're still the same." Ivana said.

"Seriously, what's going on?" Shadow asked.

Diggs sighed. "Ivana and I... we were together back in the 1200s."

Shadow's eyes widened. "Wow. I... I don't have the words."

Ivana smirked. "Together? Diggs, that is an understatement. We were more than together."

Diggs blushed. "Quit mentioning it."

"Oh, you're definitely still the same innocent pup I met." Ivana commented.

Shadow snickered. "Oh, my god. This is actually hilarious."

"Stop talking." Diggs looked at Ivana. "We need your help."

Ivana sighed and jumped onto the desk. "Look, there's not much I can do. Glitch never gave away any sensitive information. And assuming his computer is a mortally one, my hacking skills require an equally advanced computer."

Diggs sighed. "Yeah, looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way."

Ivana chuckled. "Well, we didn't have computers back then, yet you and I still managed to kick ass. Did we not?"

Diggs blushed again. "Um, yeah, we did."

Shadow glanced at Ivana, then back at Diggs. "What did you two do back then?"

"I don't wanna talk about it!" Diggs exclaimed in embarrassment.

Ivana chuckled. "He gets so embarrassed. Used to feel that way all the time when he was in my hold."

"Okay, Ivana, you talk about this stuff way too much." Diggs complained.

Ivana laughed. "Maybe. So, do you boys have any other ideas?"

"Well, could you help us track criminals that might have an affiliation with Glitch?"

"Sounds possible, assuming Glitch did hack their tech and erase any information that even mentioned his name. But let's see what I can do."

Shadow chuckled as Ivana began searching on Chuck's computer, and he looked at Diggs. "So, you and Ivana?"

"Stop talking!"

"Okay, there is NOT much to go on. Oh, that explains it." Ivana said.

"What? What is it?" Diggs asked immediately, obviously wanting to chance the subject.

"Well, for about two seconds, this guy's file mentioned some sort of affiliation with someone known as "Glitch," then the file was altered and now it mentions nothing of Glitch." Ivana replied.

"Whoa, he's good." Shadow commented.

"If we're _lucky,_ we might have ourselves a superior on our hands." Ivana added.

Diggs groaned in frustration. "Great. Remember what happened the last time we faced superiors?"

"Yeah, it didn't usually end well." Ivana said.

"Why? What would happen?" Shadow asked in confusion.

"Um, you know how people disappeared a couple hundred years ago and the only clue was the word Croatoan?" Diggs asked.

Shadow's eyes widened. "What happened?"

"Long story, a superior wipe out the entire colony and we fought against him. He fought hard, fought well, all three of us became hammered shit." Ivana answered.

Shadow raised a brow. "Do I wanna know the rest?"

"No." Diggs said.

"Highly unlikely." Ivana added.

Shadow nodded. "Right. So, who's that criminal you were just talking about?"

"Oh, right."

The three of them turned their attention to the computer.

"This is Stein. He's a canine criminal from Germany. Been wanted by DOG and MEOWS for about two years, and until a couple minutes ago, his file mentioned an affiliation with Glitch." Ivana stated.

Diggs leaned forward to read what the file said. "Okay, it says that they were working together for a few years now."

"And they've been working on a Nova Project?" Shadow asked in confusion.

Diggs and Ivana's eyes widened. "Fuck."

Shadow raised a brow. "What is it?"

"Stein's working on Nova Six." Diggs answered.

Now Shadow was even more confused. "The hell's Nova Six?"

"It's a deadly biochemical weapon. Combination of lethal biological and chemical weapon." Ivana answered.

"It's been used in the Cold War by a superior, and it caused the deaths of millions of people. We're surprised the US was able to keep the weapon's existence unknown. Imagine the panic." Diggs added.

"So, it kills people? What about superiors?" Shadow asked.

"Well, you see, we superiors have something called contaminant immunity, making us immune to contaminants." Diggs replied.

Shadow raised a brow. "What kind of contaminants?"

"Every kind." Ivana stated. "Diseases, radiation, foreign chemicals, poisons, any harmful and non-beneficial contaminant you can think of. So we were immune to Nova Six, but it didn't smell so great."

"So, he's not after superiors." Shadow said.

"For all we know, Stein knows nothing of superiors." Diggs pointed out, then looked at his ex-girlfriend. "So, what's his last known location?"

Ivana laughed. It was that same crazy laugh she had as Kitty Galore. "Oh, Diggs. You underestimate me. I'm certain that a guy dealing with Nova Six would have a computer. Give me a minute to locate him."

Shadow looked at Diggs as Ivana began searching. "Does she always laugh like that?"

Diggs nodded. "It's just how she is. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"Done!" Ivana exclaimed. "He's down in Mexico. There's an old factory there that'll suffice for whatever he's planning to do with Nova."

"Oh, Shadow, you're gonna have to wear a decontamination suit, just in case." Diggs said.

"But I don't have one." Shadow said.

Ivana chuckled. "This will give me a chance to test out something I've been working on. Follow me, boys."

The wolf and two superiors walked out of the trailer and to a hatch that Ivana was able to open easily. The hatch had been concealed via hologram, so no one would notice it. The three of them climbed down into it and Shadow closed the hatch before continuing down.

At the moment, they entered what looked like a secret lair with several different pieces of highly advanced equipment. There was a large screen on one of the walls, an armory on one side, and several other pieces of equipment.

"Wow." Shadow commented.

"Yep. Come on, let's go to the lab." Ivana led the way to a door and inside was a lab that looked like it was meant for developing weapons. She walked up to a wall and pressed a button, opening a secret door to reveal a suit that looked like it was meant for a canine. "Say hello to one of my greatest achievements. This is the K9 Elite, but it's merely a Mark 1 for my real plans."

"Jeez, is this to fight superiors?" Diggs asked as he took a closer look at the suit.

Ivana laughed. "Oh, Diggs, that's a bit much. The user of the suit might stand a chance, but even my technology can only go so far."

"Okay, how does it work?" Shadow asked.

"Well, it's simple. The suit enhances the user's physical capabilities; strength, speed, agility, stamina, endurance, and can make a few adjustments to the user's body in order to enhance their flexibility." Ivana explained.

Shadow's eyes widened slightly. "Sounds painful."

"That's why I added in a special pain suppression feature." Ivana stated.

"Will it protect Shadow from Nova Six?" Diggs asked.

"Oh, yes." Ivana replied. "I designed the suit to filter the oxygen out of the air, while keeping out any deadly substances, such as biological weapons. Even inject a special serum to make the user immune to the negative effects if necessary."

Diggs smirked. "You always did have a worst case scenario."

Ivana chuckled. "Oh, you do know me. Also, I gave the suit some built-in weapons, navigation systems, a Heads Up Display, a set of boosters, a cloaking system, but that's not the best part. Go on, take a sniff."

Diggs's nose twitched slightly as he smelled the suit, and the German Shepherd's eyes widened. "Is that... adamantium? And vibranium?"

Ivana grinned. "Yes, it is."

Shadow's eyes widened. "Wait, I thought both metal were fictional."

"Not exactly. They just don't exist in this universe." Diggs objected.

Shadow was even more shocked. "You've been to other universes, too?"

"Yeah, mostly ones outside our multiverse. Like the Marvel Multiverse." Diggs answered.

"When we were in those universes, we collected a lot of adamantium and vibranium." Ivana added. "I found way to combine both of them. As a result, they gained each other's strengths and canceled out one another's weaknesses. The vibranium became immune to antarctic vibranium, or anti metal. And the adamantium could not be broken by super heated adamantium. Not only that, but both were immune to metal manipulating powers, like Magneto's."

Diggs nodded. "It's completely and utterly mortally invulnerable."

Shadow raised a brow. "What does that mean?"

"It means that it cannot be affected by mortally means. Basically, only supernatural beings could affect it." Diggs explained. "Now, just imagine what it would become it we were to supernaturalize it."

"What would happen?" Shadow asked interestedly.

"It'd become a high level supernatural metal, one that would not be easy to destroy. And becoming supernatural is completely irreversible. They say even omnipotent beings could not make supernatural beings or objects mortal again." Diggs answered.

Shadow's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Diggs nodded. "We know it's a fact."

"Wait, but if supernatural things are invulnerable to anything mortal or mortally, whatever, then what about you guys?"

"Well, as superiors, we're half supernatural. Semi-supernatural beings. Our bodies are mortal and vulnerable to most mortally means, but we are supernatural at the same time, able to lift and use supernatural objects and abilities. If a semi-supernatural being were given powers by mortals or mortally means, then those powers would be augmented to the supernatural scale. Even if the mortally counterpart is at a higher level, the one on the supernatural scale will always be more superior."

"Damn. This is all really confusing." Shadow said.

Diggs chuckled. "You'll get used to it. Now suit up, we got work to do."

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, what do you think? I know you might not like the whole Diggs x Kitty pairing. How they ended up together is a long and complicated story. To anyone that enjoys reading this, I'll update as soon as possible.**


	3. Nova Final

Getting to Mexico wasn't taking long, not when Ivana had an invention that she's been wanting to use. It was basically a jet, with advanced technology. It was larger than that jet from the X-Men Universe, as well as faster and much more agile, able to avoid and outrun missiles or any other projectiles. And, of course, Ivana had also succeeded in making the jet out of vibranium and adamantium, thus, the jet was indestructible.

There was this room on the second floor of the plane, which is where the tree of them of were. Each of them were sitting on some nice furniture here and there.

"This is nice, Ivana." Diggs commented. "Did you steal it?"

Ivana rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha. Very funny, Diggs. And for your information, I didn't steal anything within this plane."

"What about the vibranium or the adamantum?" Shadow asked, wearing the suit.

"That was different. I found both metals, which makes them _my_ property." Ivana replied. "And be grateful I did, otherwise we'd leave you behind since there'd be no suit to protect you from exposure to Nova."

"Well, she has a point there, Shadow." Diggs agreed. "If she didn't have either of the metals, she wouldn't have been able to make that suit, and you wouldn't be able to come along. Although, grateful _seems_ like a strong word."

"Whose side are you on?" Shadow asked in annoyance.

"Hey, don't talk back to me, pup." Diggs said, trying to sound old and full of authority. "I'm several thousand years old! Born during ancient Egypt!"

Shadow raised a brow. "But didn't you say that you're technically a two year old German shepherd both mentally and physically?"

"I'm still old!"

"You don't act like it."

"You really don't." Ivana agreed.

Diggs looked at her. "And whose side are you on?"

Ivana just shrugged. "Call me neutral."

Diggs shook his head. "I forgot what kind of person you are."

"So, what do we do when we find the Nova Six and Stein?" Shadow asked.

Diggs shrugged. "We'll just make sure the Nova Six is properly contained, then we'll go question Stein, assuming he knows anything about Glitch."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then we're gonna go on a wild goose chase."

Shadow sighed. "This will take a while, won't it?"

Diggs nodded. "Pretty much."

"Alright. How much longer until arrive?" Shadow asked.

"Actually, we're already here." Ivana stated. "You boys were too busy talking to notice that we've landed."

Diggs shrugged. "Well, let's go find ourselves Stein. How far are we from that factory he's using?"

"About four hundred meters out." Ivana answered as she lend them to an exit, which they could see the factory from. "Not a bad place to work on bio weapons. I imagine that building around the center is where they got the Nova, and perhaps where we'll find Stein. Either way, it looks like one of the main buildings, and both our targets will likely be in the main buildings."

Diggs nodded. "They always are. The main buildings are usually due to security, and the guy in charge is usually supervising whatever's going down in the main buildings."

"Okay, that sounds logical, but, uh, why are the guards humans?" Shadow asked.

Around the factory were several dozen armed humans. There were groups of 2-6 patrolling the perimeter, and on what looked like large oil tanks were snipers; one or two on each tank. There were also snipers on rooftops of some of the buildings here and there, mainly the ones that had a wall capable of providing cover, and there were a couple watchtowers that had snipers in them. Not only that, but there were also mounted miniguns here and there. Other than that, there were just dozens of humans carrying standard equipment and rifles. But all of them were wearing military gear, and there were multiple vehicles that looked like they were meant for military soldiers.

A majority of the vehicles had mounted miniguns, while the rest looked like transport vehicles. The ones with weapons were different from each other, because one type looked like a fast, 4-seater with a frame around the top half instead of a roof or anything like that, but it had a brush guard and seemed to be armored. The other type had a brush guard, was armored, but it was larger, looking like a humvee, and it seemed to be heavily armored.

"Wow. These guys sure mean business." Diggs commented. "I mean, I was expecting something more cheap, like... cartel cheap or something."

"So did I." Ivana agreed.

"You guys didn't answer my question. Why are the guards humans?" Shadow repeated.

"Well, Shadow, not every single enemy of ours is a superior. Some were humans. Every now and then, we'd fight against human soldiers, usually just to get to the superior in charge." Diggs explained.

"So, we're gonna kill humans?" Shadow asked, not sounding morally against it.

"Well, we're saving a lot of lives taking out Stein and stopping whatever he has planned for Nova." Diggs replied casually, not morally against it either. "So, before we go, I think we should do a silent ops, take out everyone before going to Stein. Good thing I brought this." Diggs had a sniper rifle with him, a black FN Ballista with a suppressor attachment. "This is gonna be fun."

"You always did enjoy the art of stealth." Ivana said.

Diggs chuckled. "Yeah. Gets the job done good. Ain't nothing better than stealth."

Ivana rolled her eyes. "You haven't changed a bit."

Diggs aimed his rifle at a lone sniper in a watchtower. Once he aimed at the sniper's head, he immediately pulled the trigger, firing a powerful bullet that went straight through its target, causing blood to shoot out of the sniper's head. The body fell onto the rail before its weight caused it to slide over and fall out of the watchtower. Fortunately, the tower had been far from anyone that would see him.

"Wow. That was actually cool." Shadow commented, sounding impressed by how Diggs managed to pull off such a long shot. The sniper had to have been nearly four and a half hundred yards, and the Diggs had hit his target in the head, but Shadow knew he shouldn't have been too surprised by that achievement. After all, from what he had been told not too long ago, Diggs had done missions like this many times in the past.

The German Shepherd grinned as he quickly reloaded. "Which is why I love silent ops. Gives me a reason to use a sniper and pull off these kind of shots. The best part is how I can pick them off one by one without raising the alarm. They won't know we're here until it's too late."

The second he finished his sentence, he had pulled the trigger a second time and hit another sniper right in the eye. The sniper spun around in the air from the force and fell face-first onto the roof he had been standing on.

"Talk about a bull's eye." Diggs joked.

Shadow couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Not bad."

Diggs chuckled as he looked around for another target and found a patrol group of four soldiers, all of which who were in line to be taken out with a single shot. Taking his chance, Diggs aimed at the one in front before firing, and the bullet flew through all four of the soldiers. The first three seemed to have been killed instantaneously, while the last one stumbled before falling to his knees. The way he held his arms out looked like he was about to place his hands over where he had been shot, and if Diggs was correct, he had shot his target in the liver.

To make sure the soldier didn't survive to alert the others, Diggs aimed for then wounded soldier's head before pulling the trigger of his rifle once more. The soldier's head whipped back as the bullet shot straight through, then he fell forward and blood soon began to pour onto the dirt.

"You think Butch would say I'm enjoying this too much?" Diggs asked jokingly.

Shadow snorted. "Nope. He enjoys using a shotgun whenever he can to blow people away. There were a few times where he's been that lucky. Honestly, I think he'd be jealous of you, right now."

Diggs was fairly surprised, then he shrugged it off. "He has his secrets, huh?"

"Oh, and you don't?"

"Well, I shared some of them with you."

"Why do I feel like you have more?" Shadow asked, raising a brow. "What are you not telling me?"

"I've had a very crazy life, Shadow. There's really too much." Diggs replied.

Shadow shrugged, figuring that he'd know the secrets another time. "Whatever you say, rookie."

Diggs pulled the trigger as his eyes widened, jerking his rifle a bit. This caused him to almost miss a target, a soldier with a mounted minigun.

"Did you just call me "rookie"? I'm millenniums older than you!" The German Shepherd exclaimed in annoyance.

Shadow chuckled, grinning as he did. "Hey, you're the one that said you're technically a two year old German shepherd, and you don't look old."

"I'm old!"

"You don't act like you are."

"Shut up." Diggs said as he found another target, then shot the sniper in the stomach. This one had been standing by a railing on top of one of the large oil tanks, and he fell over and accidentally slid off the railing before falling to his death.

"I'm just saying, you seem like a pup." Shadow said.

"He has a point, Diggs." Ivana agreed.

Diggs blushed. "Not now, Ivana."

The feline superior shook her head, chuckling softly. "You always were so shy and embarrassed."

Shadow laughed when he saw Diggs's face. "Aw, the puppy's so adorable when he's blushing."

Said "puppy" glared at the wolf. "Stop talking!"

Shadow looked at Ivana. "I guess puppies will be puppies."

"Shut up!"

"Aw, no need to fuss, little one."

"Shut the hell up!"

By now, Shadow had begun laughing hysterically. Diggs had gotten much more annoyed and decided to just finish off the rest of the guards around the area. It had taken less than a minute for him to do just that, and Shadow had finally stopped laughing.

"Okay, we're ready to go in, now." Diggs said.

Ivana nodded. "I'll go find my own way in, take out whatever guards that might be inside the main building. There appears to only be one."

"Well, it's just an old factory." Diggs reminded.

"Well, regardless, we should keep our eyes out. No telling what we're gonna see in there." Shadow said.

Diggs chuckled. "I've seen more than you."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Whatever, rookie."

"Cut that shit out!"

"Puppies will be puppies."

* * *

Getting inside had been relatively easier than the three of them had expected. That made all of them wary as they weren't sure what to expect. Situations like this weren't usually good, and they were wondering if they were walking into a trap. Even though there weren't any signs that suggested it was a trap.

"There's only one person here, and that has to be Stein." Diggs said.

"Yeah, my radar's only picking him up. So he's alone." Shadow said.

"How do you wanna do this?" Diggs asked Ivana, who now looked like a panther/wolf hybrid, since superiors could change their form.

Ivana just shrugged. "Let's just go in and see what he knows."

"Alright. In that case." Diggs leapt at the door, knocking it off its hinges. The sound startled Stein, and the dog backed up against the wall.

"Wait, wait! Don't hurt me!" He begged.

"Talk or we will hurt you." Shadow threatened, and in the suit, his voice sounded deeper; very intimidating.

"Tell us everything you know about Glitch." Diggs demanded.

Stein shook his head. "I don't know anything!"

"What does he look like?"

"I don't know! I never saw him! He only spoke on the computer, but he's deleted all data logs that even mentioned his name!"

Diggs growled menacingly. "What does he want with Nova?"

"I don't know!" Stein yelled, breathing heavily from fear. "He never said anything about his plans. Just that he might need Nova and he wanted me to improve it."

"Improve it how?" Ivana asked.

"Um... he wanted me to find ways to make it deadlier, and easier to hide. He gave me the formula, and he wanted me to see what could be done to hide it, make it almost impossible to detect. Then, he wanted me to make it as incurable as possible."

"Why make it incurable?" Diggs asked skeptically. "It can already kill someone in seconds."

"Not if the victim is exposed to small enough amounts of it." Stein objected. "A person must breathe in a certain amount before the poison becomes too much for their immune system to fight against. If there isn't enough, then they'll likely get sick, but with a high chance of survival."

"So he wanted you to make it deadlier in the sense that less of it is required to kill?" Shadow asked, now understanding. "What else?"

"He... He wanted me to make it contagious. Making small amounts of Nova Six fatal isn't easy, maybe not possible for me. So he wanted to make it so that small amounts could cause some very harmful effects." Stein explained. "Those effects involve suppressing the victim's immune system, as well as have them carry cells infected with Nova, capable of being passed onto others, then Nova would slowly grow in their systems. Radioactive elements have been mixed with Nova so that the radiation would cause mutants in the cells, such as cancer, much more aggressive than normal cancer."

"How aggressive?" Diggs asked.

"Anyone will have a few days before the tumorous cells spread throughout their bodies. Then a few days later, they'll be dead if a cure isn't found."

'Where's the cure?" Shadow demanded.

Stein shook his head. "I-I-I never made one. He said he wouldn't need it. Said he would somehow be immune to its harmful effects. That's all I know, I swear!"

Before Diggs could ask another question, the TV behind Stein turned on. On the screen, they saw pixels, static, and they could see a familiar figure moving around, his image stopping for a few seconds each time he moved.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't two superiors." Glitch said, chuckling distortedly. "I knew you'd come here, Major Diggs."

"So, I take it you're a superior as well, Glitch?" Diggs replied, glaring at the screen.

Glitch chuckled once more. "That I am. How else would I be immune to my new and improved Nova? I'm thinking of calling it "Nova Final"."

"Really? That's it? Nova Final?" Diggs asked, unimpressed.

"Well, I wanted to keep 'Nova' in the name. And 'Final' just says that anyone exposed to Nova Final will die, and this weapon of mine is pretty much incurable." Glitch glanced at Shadow. "I see you brought one of The Pack with you, despite the fact that he's a traitor. Then again, a agent for DOG isn't who you truly are, Diggs. No, you're so much more than a simple agent, aren't ya?"

"What're your plans for Nova?" Shadow demanded. "And how much do you know about my pack?"

"What I intend to do with Nova is relatively obvious. As for how much I know about you and The Pack, well, let's just say I know everything. I know where you've been, inside that cave within that mountain. I know of those slaves of yours, those weapons that look futuristic. Hell, consider one of those wolves you know my associate."

Shadow's eyes widened, though it couldn't be seen through the suit. "What? That's impossible! How can any of them be involved in any of this?"

"Oh, they aren't exactly involved in this whole process of manufacturing weapons. Although, I will give my associate a piece of the pie. After all, we are good friends. And, well, you'll find out who my associate is in due time." And with that, the screen went blank.

"Shadow, are you okay?" Diggs asked, instinctively knowing that the wolf was becoming anxious about what they had just heard.

"We need to get there!" Shadow exclaimed. "Diggs, there's no telling what could happen!"

"Look, I know you're worried." Diggs assured calmly. "I've been there many times. And I know situations like this can end badly, especially if we make the wrong decision. Which is why we cannot go there immediately. If we don't go soon, then everything there should be normal, and that'll buy us time. Right now, we have to find Glitch and his stash of Nova. If that thing is used, there's no telling how many people could die."

Shadow would've argued, he seriously would've, since he and the German Shepherd never got along in the past. But he knew Diggs had a point. And admittedly, Diggs _was_ older and more experienced with these type of things. And he's gotten them this far, so the Spec Ops Agent might as well trust the Superior.

"Okay." He said, calming down. "Okay, what's are next move?"

Diggs looked at Stein. "Do you know where he keeps his stash? If you don't, do you at least know a way to track it?"

"Um... I don't know where he keeps it. He has many safe places across the world where he keeps his things. And there isn't exactly a way to track the Nova itself." Stein stated. "But, about half an hour ago, there was a convey passing through the area, guarding a shipment of Nova. They're most likely heading to the nearest safe place to store it."

"Which direction were they going in?" Ivana asked.

"Uh, southwest."

"Well, we have our heading." Diggs said.


End file.
